PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS CONSULTANT

University Of Kwazulu-Natal; Durban; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits included

Job summary

The University of KwaZulu-Natal requires a Principal Systems Consultant to lead enterprise resilience, backup, storage and disaster recovery across ICS. The role focuses on architecture, governance, implementation and operational management to keep systems secure, recoverable and aligned with institutional strategy.

The PSC provides technical leadership, supports enterprise ICT programmes, mentors the Systems & Services team and collaborates with vendors to evolve infrastructure across

Qualifications

• Eight years of enterprise-level experience in systems, backup, storage and DR in a large IT organisation.
• Professional IT certifications in backup, virtualization, cloud or infrastructure technologies.
• Strong architecture, governance and problem-solving capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Architect, implement and maintain enterprise backup, storage and DR solutions.
• Develop scalable, secure recovery architectures for hybrid environments.
• Lead disaster recovery testing, runbooks and documentation.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship within the team.
• Coordinate with vendors and ensure adherence to SLAs and standards.

Skills

Enterprise resilience

Governance

Leadership

Mentorship

Education

Matric and degree (NQF Level 7)

Tools

VMCE

VCP

Microsoft

Rubrik

Job description

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is committed to meeting the objectives of Employment Equity to improve representivity within the Institution. Preference will be given to applicants from designated groups in accordance with our Employment Equity Plan.

INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING AND GOVERNANCE

PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS CONSULTANT (PEROMNES GRADE 7)

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES HOWARD CAMPUS

Information and communication servers (ICS) consolidate all computing, audio-visual, telephony, access control CCTV and print and copy services as well as information management into a single, integrated divisionacross UKZN’s 4 colleges, 5 campuses, and the 50 affiliated unitsand sites of operation including hospitals and research institutes.

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The University of KwaZulu-Natal requires a Principal Systems Consultant (PSC) for the Systems & Services team within the Infrastructure, Networks & Communications (INC) section of the Information & Communications Services (ICS) division.

The incumbent will provide specialist expertise in the areas of Enterprise Resilience, Backup, Storage and Disaster Recovery across the University’s enterprise ICT environment.

The role is responsible for the architecture, governance, implementation, optimisation and operational management of enterprise backup, recovery and disaster recovery platforms, ensuring that institutional systems and data remain secure, recoverable and resilient.

In fulfilling the role of Principal Systems Consultant, the incumbent will provide technical leadership, contribute to enterprise ICT programmes and projects, and support the integration and alignment of systems and services across the broader ICT environment in line with institutional standards and strategy.

The incumbent will also contribute toward the strategic evolution of the University’s enterprise infrastructure platforms, while maintaining strong working knowledge across related infrastructure domains including virtualisation, identity, cloud integration and enterprise systems operations.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Enterprise Resilience Architecture & Planning

• Architect, implement and maintain enterprise backup, storage and disaster recovery solutions aligned to institutional ICT strategy.
• Develop, implement and maintain scalable, secure and resilient recovery architectures across hybrid on-premises and cloud-integrated environments.
• Participate in infrastructure lifecycle planning, platform modernisation, migrations and technology refresh initiatives.
• Research and recommend emerging technologies and best practices relating to enterprise resilience, cyber recovery and disaster recovery capabilities.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, systems, networking and security teams to ensure integrated and resilient enterprise services.

2. Backup, Recovery & Disaster Recovery

• Administer and optimise enterprise backup and recovery platforms including Veeam, Rubrik or equivalent enterprise-class solutions.
• Develop and maintain backup policies, retention schedules, replication strategies and recovery standards.
• Ensure critical enterprise systems and data are protected through secure, validated and recoverable backup solutions.
• Implement and maintain immutable and cyber-resilient recovery capabilities aligned to modern ransomware protection principles.
• Develop and maintain disaster recovery procedures, recovery documentation and operational runbooks.
• Conduct and coordinate disaster recovery testing, recovery validation exercises and remediation activities.
• Develop and maintain recovery strategies aligned to institutional Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO).
• Monitor, optimise and report on backup, storage and recovery platform performance, capacity and operational health.
• Act as a senior escalation point for complex backup, storage and disaster recovery incidents.

3. Governance, Compliance & Documentation

• Ensure enterprise backup and recovery environments align with POPIA, institutional governance frameworks and information security standards.
• Support audit and compliance processes through the provision of technical evidence, reporting and recovery validation documentation.
• Maintain governance and operational documentation including:
• backup and recovery procedures;
• disaster recovery runbooks;
• testing reports;
• retention policies;
• and platform standards.
• Ensure appropriate security controls including encryption, immutability, privileged access management and recovery isolation principles are implemented across backup and recovery platforms.

4. Technical Leadership & Operational Support

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship within the Systems & Services team.
• Participate in enterprise projects requiring resilience, recovery and infrastructure integration expertise.
• Provide technical guidance relating to backup, disaster recovery and enterprise resilience practices.
• Contribute toward infrastructure standards, procurement specifications, platform evaluations and operational planning.
• Liaise with vendors and service providers to ensure adherence to support agreements and service delivery expectations.
• Maintain awareness of industry trends, emerging threats and evolving best practices in enterprise resilience and disaster recovery.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Matric and relevant 3-year degree or equivalent qualification at NQF Level 7 plus;
• Relevant and industry-recognised professional IT certification(s) in enterprise backup, virtualisation, cloud or infrastructure technologies (e.g. VMCE, VCP, Microsoft, Rubrik or equivalent);
• A minimum of eight (8) years proven enterprise-level experience in systems, infrastructure, backup, storage and disaster recovery environments within a large and complex Information Technology organisation.
• A valid Code 8 driver’s licence is required.

Notes

• Short-listed candidates may be required to undertake a technical skills assessment.

Appointment to this post will be on the January 2018 Conditions of Service. The total remuneration package offered includes benefits.

The closing date for receipt of applications is 01 October 2026.

Short-listed candidates may be expectedto do a presentation on a specifictopic.

Kindly note that the University of KwaZulu-Natal ("the University") is required to process any Personal Information (as defined by the Protection of Personal Act, 2013 "POPIA")submitted by candidates when applying for positions at the University. The provision of the Personal Information is a requirement in terms of the University’s recruitment and selection process. The retention of any personal information is as a consequence of the University being bound by legislative requirements and / or good governance practices as well as record keeping for statistical purposes. The University will endeavour to ensure that the appropriate security measures are in place and implemented for both electronic and paper-based formats that are used for processing of the personal information recorded through this recruitment and selection process.